Lantern



`March 15, 1932. i R :LlRl-ll;` 1,849,136

LANTERN Filed NOV. l2, 1929 Fay/ . IE Al||||||||| A TMP/riff f details of construction, the switch member Patented Mar. 15, 1932 y UNET'D STATES New YonKnssIGNoR 'rof n. E. nin'rz COMPANY, or NEW YORK, n. Y.

ROBERT A cURnin, or sYRAoUsE,

vmuvfrniuv Application `filed Novemberul, 1929.V Serial No. 406,629.V

:This invention Arelates to lanterns, and more particularly to means by which a lantern may be converted from an oil burning lanternto an electric lantern, and vice versa.

An object of the invention is to provide im-` proved and simple means for converting they ordinary oil burning lantern of the removabley fount type into an electric lantern; with which the electric lantern may be converted back into an oil burning lantern whenever desired; with which the cost of conversioni of an'oil burning lantern into anV electric lantern will be relatively slight;;withwh 1ch the conversionrmay beaccomplishedin a simi` ple and easy manner; with which van -emer-` gency oil burning lightmay always be avail` able inthe event of V:failure of theelectric light; and which will be'relatively simple and inexpensive Various other objects and advantages will.

be apparent from the following. description of an embodiment of the' invention, and the Y novel features will be .particularly pointech A ,s out hereinafter inconnection with the ap- 25 j pended claims. Y l v In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an ordinary railroad signal lantern of the type yhavingal removable oil fount, when converted into an oil burning lantern;

Fig. Qis a transverse, sectional elevation of the lower portion of the same, when con-y verted into an electric lantern; y

Fig. 3 is a rontelevation ofthe electric conversion unitremoved from the lantern;

Fig. Ll is a sectional elevation through the upper portion of the same Ato villustrate certain being in on position;

Fig. 5 is asimilar view, but th 'srwch .l y

l i other een 14 is' disposed in its Pocket A in anV member in off position;

Fig. 6 'is a bottom plan of the top or remov- Y able cover of the unit;

Figf'? is a sectional plan ofthe unitfwithl have electrical connection therewith, and the one of the battery cells removed; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective, partly inv section, oit

the conversim'unit'v withV the top removed.

'In the illustrated embodiment lof the invention,`thelanternis of the railroad signal type, and includes the usual frame or guard 1, with the cup-like base shell 2 opening npr.V

wardlyso as to receive the usualremovable oil fount. with burner a (Fig. 1) and with operatingstem b. The oil founts otrail-l road signall lanterns are' of standard size. The shell 2 4is provided along its upper open edge with a; globe seat 3 (Fig. 2),.surrounded by an upstanding vflange 4. A globe 5 of Y transparent material, suchas'glass, is remove f ably mounted onli-the seat 3 with-in the liange 4; and isfconlined to the seat by the usual top of the globefby'means of the usual spring, not shown, within thedome.` rlhe domeisof; the hinged type to permit removal .of the globe and of` the oil fount.

The conversion unit,

removablecover 9. A partition v10,7is'fdis'1- land a contactl strip 13 .of rspringqmetalis disposed between the discsl andagainst the l,cen-

tral portionv of theunderface of the upper. -disc with its ends threaded upwardly through the upper disc and then extending' V globeholder 6 (Fig. carried by the dome 7 and lspring pressed downwardly upon the;

shown separately-in;v t Fig. 3, includes a cylindricalshell 8 havinga'- 7o: Vposed inthefshell.andformsV approximately cylindrical-cavities A Vand VB fof a .size to re,- Y

'15V Fig. 2 are disposed in the bottom ofgthershell, r y

slightlyabove the upper face of the upper disc 12, into'the centers of the bottomscf cavities Al and B, as shown clearly infFigs. l2.and 7 l, A pair of iiash lightlbatteries 14 andl 15 are disposed inthe shell 8, one inthe cavity A: andV the other in the cavity B. Onev of the y cells, such as 15, isdisposed in an upright position in itspocketor cavity B and the inverted position. The central electrodeof;V

the inverted cell rests upon theproje'cting flexible end of thecontactstrip13, so as to exposed metal 'bottom ofV the, uprightA cell l5 rests upon the'opposite flexible ,end oftheV er y The cover 9 is provided with an outwardly struck boss 16, having a threaded aperture 17 that mounts the threaded end oit an electric light bulb 18 of the iiash light or low voltage type. The base of the bulb 18 screws in to the metal boss 16 and grounds one terminal of the bulb to the shell cover. A contact spring 19 is secured to the under tace of the cover 9 inV any suitable manner, such as by a rivet 20, the securing means or rivetV grounding the contact spring to the cover of the casing. The free end ot the Contact spring 19 bears yieldingly and resiliently upon the central electrode olthe upright battery cell 15 when the cover is placed on the casing.

The inner face of the cover isjprovided with an insulating layer or lining 21 (Figs. 2 and 6), and a disk 22 of insulating material is secured against the under'ace of the cover, such as by the rivet 2O (Figs. 4 and A conducting strip 23 oi"A spring metal is threaded through the disc 22 at a couple of spaced points, one end of the strip 23 extending across the inner end ot the passage 17 in the boss 16 so as to engage resiliently with, and establish an electrical circuit to, the oentral end contact o1" the light' bulb 18. i

The other end of the strip .23 bearsl flexibly and resiliently upon the metal bottom end of the inverted battery cell 14. The portion of the strip 23 between the apertures in the disc 22 through which it passes will lie flat against the inner face of the lining layer 21, so as to be insulated from theV top cover 9, and the strip23 may be held-against. removal or displacement by a rivet 24a,14`ig. 2, which passes through the discv 22 and the strip 23.

An electric circuit for tl e lamp or bulb 18 is thus established as follows: From the central electrode of the y upright battery 15 through spring Contact 19 to the cover 9 of the shell V8, thence through boss 16 to the threaded contact errule on the base of the light bulb, through the bulb to the central end Contact of the bulb, thence through strip 23 to the outer shell or electrode of the inverted battery cell 14, through the battery cell 14 to the central electrode thereof, thence through conducting strip 13 to the outer shell or electrode of the upright battery cell 15, and thence through the cell 15 to the central electrode where the circuit as described started. By flexing the Contact 19, out of engagement with the central electrode of the upright battery cell 15, the circuit to the light bulb will be broken, and when the spring 19 is released, it will spring baci; into engagement with the central electrode of the battery 15 and again complete the circuit. i

In order to operate the Contact 19 to malte or break the circuitfrom the exterior of the shell, a suitable device is provided. for mechanically camming the Contact or spring 19 out of engagement with the battery electrode. For this purpose, a sheet metal arm 24 may be secured, such as by rivet 25 to the cover 9 so as to depend from the underface thereof and adjacent the periphery thereof. The depending end of the arm 24is provided with arolled bearing 26 in which a stem 27 is slidably mounted. The stein 27 extends outwardly from the cover 9 in the position corresponding to the usual position ot the wick operating stem of an oil ount that is adapted to fit the same base 2, and its outer end is provided with an operating button 28.

.The depending arm 24 is provided at its lower end with a branch 29 which extends toward the center of the shell 8, so that the depending arm 24 is somewhat L-shaped. The inner end of the stem 27 is bent angularly at 30 (Figs. 4 and 5), so as to lie along one tace of the arm 24, and is then bent laterally across the upper edge of the branch 29 to iorm a contact operating arm 31.

The operating` arm 31, at its free end, carries a cam or plate 32 of liber, rubber or other insulating material in a position to engage with the spring or contact 19 and cam it upwardly away from the battery cell 15 when the stein is pushed inwardly. The free end of the branch 29 cooperates with the stem to limit inward movement of the stem, and for this purpose the extreme free end of the branch 29 may be flanged laterally as at 33 to lie in the path of movement of the angular portion 30 of the stein when the stem is -pushed inwardly.

1 rlfhe flanged end 33 of the branch 29 is so located that it will stop the inward movement of the stem 27 after the cam 32 has forced the spring contact 19 upwardly away from the battery cell suliciently to cause the free end or contactportion of the spring `19 to ride upon Vthe upper face of the cam 32, in whichV position the spring or contact 19 will exert its resilient force on the cam in a direction laterally of its path of movement, so as not to urge the cam and stem outwardly. rlhus when the stem is pushed inwardly to open the circuit to the lamp, the stem will befrictionally retained in ofi position by the pressure of the spring 19 upon the upper face oi' the cam.

Extra lamp bulbs may be carried in the interior of the shell 8 at one side of the double partition wall 10, and the batteries do not usually give out suddenly without warning, but indicate their weakness through the dimming of the light emitted bythe bulb 18. In the event of any unforeseen or sudden failure ofthe electric unit of the lantern, however, 4provision for an emergency oil light may be made. For example, a small oil tount 34 may be disposed also in the shell 8 at the side of the double partition opposite from the space that may be used for eXtra Leie-,13e

bulbs, the casing of the fount beingformed to fit the undulatory shape of the partition l0 and the curved shape of the shell 8 so as to have maXimum capacity for oil. f i

The fount 34 is provided with a suitable burner 35 having a wick 36 extending therefrom and disposed immediately below the cover 9, preferably as near as possible to the center of the casing 8. rl`hus if the electrical illumination fails, one may remove the cover 9 of the conversion unit, and light the wick 36 which will burn and provide an emergency light within the globe, the same as would be provided were an oil fount used to replace the conversion electric unit.

rlhe illustrated lantern, as shown in F ig. 1, is of the type commonly used for railroad signalling, by railroad employees, and has the usual draft openings for supplying air to thc interior of the globe for combustionv purposes and for removing the products of combustion. Such lanterns heretofore have been provided with removable oil founts, each carrying a suitable burner and a wick c (YF ig.

l) the wick operating stem Z) thereof extend,- v

ing outwardly through a notch 37V (Fig. l)

' provided in the flange 4l and the globe seat-3,

the globe confining the wick operating stem in thel bottom of the notch and thereby preventing base 2.

To convert such an oil burning lantern :into an electric lantern, the dome 7 is removed or lifted to release the globe 5, the globe being then removed,"after which the oil vfount is removed. The conversion unit, shown separately in Fig. .3, which is'of a size and shape to fit the cavity in which the oil fount'was carried in the lantern base 2, is thenplaced in the base 2 in the position formerly occupied by the oil fount. The stem 27 is received in the notch 87, and the globe 5 is then replaced and the dome 7 closed, as shown inFig. 1. rlhe globe conlinesthe stem 27 in the bottom of the notch 37, and thus holds the conversion unit against displacement in the base 2. v

To light the converted lantern, it is merely necessary to pull outwardly on the button 28, whereupon the cam 32 on the inner end of the stem releases the contact spring 19, and the latter thereupon springs intoengagement with the central electrode of cell 15 to complete the elect-ric circuit to the bulb, as shown in Fig. l. To extinguish the lightit is meref displacement of the fount inthe ly necessary to push inwardly on the button,

28, which cams the contact 19 into open circuit position as shown in Fig. 5.

yif the electric circuit fails unexpectedly, the cover 9 of the unit may be removed, and the wick 36 lighted to provide an emergency light until anew unit 8 can be obtained and substituted' in the base 2, or new batteries or Vbulbs obtained and substituted for the defective elements. Y

Y, It will be obvious that various changes in l the details, which have been herein described and illustratedin order to explain thena-ture Y of the invention, vmay be `made iby f those skilled inthe art within'theprinciple.andl

. globe seat adjacent itsupper open edge, said seat having anotch toreceivethe wick operating stem of a liquid fuel burner "and oil fount, a shell removably fitted'insaid cavity and having a removable cover and a stem eX- te'nding outwardly through saidf notched' controlled by. said stem for lighting or. ex-

tinguishing-said bulb, an emergency oil fount and burner alsolcarried wholly within and" `concealed by the cover of said'shell, and a globe releasably mounted on said'seat'to'con finesaid shell and stemiin said base.

"2. `A lantern comprising a frame ofthe seat', an electric light'bulb mounted on. the 'cover of saidshell, ymeans in said shell and oil burning type having an upwardlyzopen-' ing, oilfountfreceiving cup-shaped base with" aV globe seat along its upper end :edge,fsaid seat having a notch vto receive the wiclr'openl l vating stem-of al liquid fuel Lburner andl `oil fountya shell removably fittedin said cavity andhaving a "stem extending outwardly- /throughfisaid notched seat, an electric vlight bulbrmounted on said? shell, v`means in said shell and controlled by said stem for lighting or extinguishing said bulb, a globe releasvably mounted on said seat tofconfine said shell and stem in said-base, said shell having a removable cover, and an emergency oil fount disposed also in said shell and having a wick immediately beneath said cover, Y whereby if said electric light bulb fails lto' function, said cover may be removed and said wick lighted to provide an emergency light. 'Y

3. In a lantern member, an electric unit* comprising a casing having va removable cover, battery means removably mounted in said casing, a bulb mounted on said cover, circuit means carried by said cover and including a springcontact engageable directly with said battery means yto complete an electric circuit between said bulb and said battery means when the cover is applied to its i270 4. In a lantern member, an electric unit comprising a casing' having -a removable cover, battery means removably mounted in said casing, a bulb mounted on saidcover,

circuit means 'carried by said cover and including a spring contact engageable with said battery means to complete an electric circuit between said bulb and said battery means when the cover is applied to its casing, a sheet metal arm secured to the under face of said cover and depending therefrom, the lower end of said arm being rolled to provide a bearing, a stem mounted in said bear-V ing and extending outwardly of the cover, a cam mounted on said stem in a position to effect a disconnectio-n of one of said contact elements from said battery means upon operation of said stem in one direction.

5. In a lantern member, an electric unit comprising a casing having a removable cover, battery means removably mounted in said casing, a bulb mounted on said cover, circuit means carried by said cover and including a spring contact engageable with said battery means to complete an electric circuit between said bulb and said battery means when the cover is applied to its casing7 a sheet metal arm secured tothe under face of said cover and depending therefrom, the lower end of said arm being rolled to provide a bearing, a stem mounted in said bearing and extending outwardly of the cover,A a cam mounted on said stem in a position to effect a disconnection of one of said contact elements from said battery means upon operation of said stem in one direction, said stem and arm having cooperating portions for limiting the movement of said stem.

ROBERT A. CURRIE. 

